>> live and in hd, this is abc 7 news at 6:30, on your side. >> the longest serving u.s. senator has died today. 82-year-old arlen specter passed away after a battle with cancer. >> it is not the first time he faced a health crisis, but he never let it get in a way of his political service. >> he will be remembered as a politician who never shied away from a battle. even when serious medical illness threaten his life multiple times, the kansas born specter graduated from the university of pennsylvania and yale law school kicking off a lifelong commitment to public

service. he was the longest serving senator in pennsylvania history. >> arlen specter is an icon in pennsylvania. he started out as a young lawyer working for the warren commission after president kennedy was assassinated and built a national reputation, he became of senator at a young age. he would be down at the stands at three rivers stadium introducing himself saying he wanted to know the whole stadium. >> he was not afraid to tackle political issues right down the middle. >> i think people will say that is what an elected official is supposed to do, even if it is not convenient or if it is difficult at times. arlen specter always did that. >> he had hodgkin's disease and survived a brain tumor and cardiac arrest after bypass surgery. he wrote a book helping others facing medical challenges.

>> maintaining a regular schedule and having a very positive attitude is the way to beat hodgkin's. >> he shared his struggles supporting senator ted kennedy when his massachusetts colleague was diagnosed with cancer, giving him personal encouragement. >> i have been there. a few years back, i was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and given three-six weeks to live. >> he sold ron, requiring 12 weeks of chemotherapy during his current interest rates in the primary -- he soldiered on. >> i am used to bumps in the road, as i said, i have shock absorbers. >> even though he received the democratic endorsement, he lost the primary. gracious in defeat, knowing this was the end of his career in the senate. >> it has been a great privilege to be in the united

states senate, and i will be working very hard for the people of the commonwealth in the coming months. >> he reopened his law practice and taught at penn law school. he loved going to comedy clubs delighting audiences with stories about bill clinton and governor ed rendell. his office issued its final public statement on august 28, acknowledging that he was once again facing a cancer diagnosis once again, bravely fighting on. >> >> that was mike clark reporting. our partners that politico have set up a life and pictures of senator arlen specter, from his days as the philadelphia

district attorney. we have set up a link on our website, wjla.com. >> two days and counting until the next presidential debate. the president is in virginia while mitt romney is conducting his debate preparations in massachusetts. stay with us for complete coverage of the second presidential debate. we will bring it to you live on tuesday, starting at 9:00 p.m. >> a woman is recovering, fighting for her life after fire raced through rahm this morning. firefighters found flames shooting from the basement. after they put the fire out, they searched the home and found a woman inside. she is in critical condition tonight. there is no word yet on what caused the fire. >> heavy smoke and flames on the second and third floor of an apartment building.

nearly a dozen residents got out quickly. investigators believe a space heater in a second-floor apartment was the cause. the red cross is helping families who don't have a place to stay tonight. >> a man suspected in to our present an attempted robbery is now in custody. prince george's county police arrested the 17-eurocom and he was charged as adults. investigators say he was responsible for robbing a two student at gunpoint and attempting to rob a third last wednesday. >> families came together for a reunion 10 months in the making. >> they were supposed to be away for an entire year. instead, they got home early and what a treat for the soldiers and their families. it is the homecoming they had

waited for. >> i cannot believe i am here, and i am real excited. >> members of the italian -- of the battalion and their families are together once more. >> it is almost like a dream, but it is over. >> for 10 months, 70 soldiers from his national guard unit have been serving in afghanistan, working security halfway around the world. there is pride here and honor but amid the hugs and tears, a realization the families are now whole again. >> i miss everybody. >> the separation is hard for them and their nine kids. >> when you have nine kids, you

can do just about anything. i don't think it will be hard with prayer and the strength that we have. >> with one brother serving in afghanistan and another deploying next month, prioress and hope -- prayers and hope. >> a challenging time for these guard members and their families. we asked a couple of board members with their plans were and they said the first thing is trying to -- trying some real american food again. >> it was 71 today, but there are some changes heading our way. >> the key word is it was sunny. we are looking at quieter conditioners -- quieter conditions. from this point on until the end of december -- clouds are beginning to roll in from the

west. a cold front will bring rain and even some thunderstorms to the area tomorrow. if you have outdoor plans this evening, no problems at all. it will be breezy evening falling into the 60's. we have a lot of sunshine on the way. >> we will talk to you soon. some very brave women and men came together for a very worthy cause, the fight against breast cancer. participants and their families are very passionate about the calls. >> they are very passionate and there was a big turnout for the closing ceremony on the national mall, which just wrapped up. ec is one of the most popular sites for this wall. people come from all over and they are so dedicated to the calls, they do it over and over and over.

that began early friday morning with more than 1600 laced up they are walking shoes and set out to cover 60 miles in three days. many are veterans. >> this is my third wall. i am a two-time breast cancer survivor and i have congestive heart better. i have three kids. finding a cure is extremely important to me. >> finding a cure for breast cancer is what motivates them to take part in these three-day events around the country. >> this is my fourth in three years. i am very happy to be part of it. >> carl vinson is one of the 60 in the calendar. >> i don't want my wife and

stepdaughter to have to worry about this for the rest of their lives. >> there are fewer of of this year after the controversial decision to pull funding from planned parenthood even though that decision was later reversed. >> is still a very energized crowd of people. >> i am on medications right now that are saving my life because of susan g. komen, so it is a no-brainer why do this. i will do it every year for as long as i can. >> they announced they raised $3.80 million this year. a little less than last year but still money that will help save lives. >> you had to see it to believe it. a man jumped from a space capsule and fell for four minutes straight before making history. why he did it we will hear from the man himself, when we come back.

>> [ mitt romney ] look at the evidence

of the last four years. under the president's policies middle income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. middle-income americans have seen their income come down by $4,300 this is a taxx in and of itself. i'll call it the economy tax. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working.

my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. dax it looks like felix ron garner has been the first man to break the speed of sound after jumping from a capsule 3 miles above the earth. he reached a maximum speed of 833.9 miles per hour. no one has ever reach that speed wearing just a space suit. he said there was a moment on the way down when he was not so sure. >> there was a time when i thought i was really in trouble. and if i push that button, the thing is all over, we are not going to fly supersonic. it is hard to make that decision. somehow we have to make that call, do i push the button and

stay alive or do i find all my weight down and break the speed of sound? after a couple of seconds, i had that feeling obligated under control, and i did. that is why we broke the speed of sound today. >> it took nine minutes for the trip back to earth. he was greeted by the cheers of his crew. >> it took little longer, actually a lot longer than expected but tonight it is mission accomplished for the space shuttle endeavour. crowds lined the streets of lough -- los angeles. trees had to be cut down and street signs removed. organizers found there were still some obstacles the need to be careful not to hit. ende3avour will go on display october 30. >> amazing to see how close it got to those trees. >> here it was a war

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dax we are dealing with temperatures in the lower 70's, nothing to complain about. high temperature today at reagan national airport well above average for this time of year. up to 76 degrees, and normally highs are in the upper 60's. the record is 87, back in 1975. 67 degrees in hunting down maryland. 70 degrees at george washington university. temperatures just wonderful outside. 64 degrees at winchester, 73 in

fredericksburg. the cold front is located just off to the north and west of us 54 degrees in chicago. compare that to 70 in detroit. we have another day of warm weather and after that a little bit of a cool down on tuesday and wednesday. slightly below average for this time of year. compared to yesterday at this time, we are now 15 degrees warmer than we were. temperatures will slowly fall during the overnight hours. the cloud cover will continue to increase to the west. the frontal system just of to the west of us give see here the line of thunderstorms beginning to develop. tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon, look for showers and thunderstorms to redevelop across the mid atlantic. a refreshing shot of cooler drier air after that. this is what looks like tomorrow

at about 7:00. heavier showers and a few thunderstorms to the west of us across the panhandled western maryland. by the rush-hour commutes home, all this pushes through and behind it, the skies will quickly clear and fall into the 40's. lower 60's tonight, turning it mostly cloudy. tomorrow, grab the umbrella. daytime high temperatures tumbled bed on tuesday. by thursday, back in the lower 70's and another frontal system will arrive on friday, with temperatures around 70 degrees. looking forward to next weekend it will be dry and quiet beautiful october weather continues. tomorrow, a little bit above all, but not too many problems. >> beautiful october weather for

the redskins and the nationals today. >> beautiful results so far. pamemela howze: it just seems like such an... infringement on our live how dare they step into my life that way. it's none of their business. he's tryining to restrict us again. he's taking us backwards. george allen is the last thing we need in washington. anncr: the democratic senatorial campaign committee is... responsible for the content of this advertising. take away his toys and

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108 yards for the touchdown, and then it came down to a field goal kick. six seconds to go. no good, the ravens win 31-29. detroit and philadelphia, michael vick throws in he texted the distance. the eagles would go into overtime with the lions. hanson makes it a 45-yarder for the lions and they come out winning 26-23. mark sanchez brochure over the middle to stephen hill for a five-yard score. the jets never looked back. a five-yard touchdown and the

jets win 35-9. the biggest comeback win in elimination day. the nationals gave up a seemingly unbreakable 6-0 lead, but enough of the negative. this is the iconic moment we will remember from that series. the nationalists say they will think about winning the nl east while they move forward. >> just the chemistry, just sticking together. everyone cheering for each other. just one of those cinderella stories that you can only wish for. >> everybody enjoyed being

around each other. >> we have come along way. we are really excited to ratchet it up in the spring. >> of 55-yard field goal to keep -- i think a [ male announcer

] president obama says he's creating jobs but he's really creating debt. the facts are clear. obama's four deficits are the four largest in us history. he's adding almost

as much debt as all 43 previous presidents -- combined. and over 30 cents ofof every dollar obama spends is borrowed. much of it from countries like china. he's not just wasting money he's borrowing it and then wasting it. we can't afford four more years. [ romney ] i'm mitt romney and i approve this message. x a little bit of rain tomorrow. grab your umbrella. at one point in the day i guarantee you will need. 72 degrees for high, then a cold front arrives. tuesday, lower to middle 60's and then towards back up into the lower 70's on thursday.

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